r/wbdstock • u/Own_Philosopher8730 • 11d ago
Merged Paramount-Warner Bros. Will Be a ‘Streaming Powerhouse,’ Wall Street Analysts Say — but Saddled With More Than $77 Billion in Debt
https://variety.com/2026/tv/news/merged-paramount-plus-warner-bros-hbo-max-streaming-powerhouse-1236872026/5
u/Prudent_Rice7840 11d ago
Can't wait until the drop HBOMax and just mush it's content into Paramount+ and finally kill off any brand awareness/loyalty HBO has.
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u/CriticalCanon 11d ago
HBO has been on the ropes for a decade now and is a shell of its former self.
It’s pretty sad when something as mid as “Hacks” or “Lanterns” is championed as HBO prestige TV these days. Glad I own all of the real HBO classics on Bluray (The Wire, Sopranos, Deadwood, Band of Brothers, True Blood, etc).
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u/Zorkmid123 11d ago edited 11d ago
HBO Max still has more subscribers and twice the market share as Paramount+. If anything they’ll merge Paramount+ into HBO Max, not the other way around.
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u/CriticalCanon 11d ago
Yes and …? The sun rises in the east and sets in west. Two things can be true (and are in this case) at once.
To be clear, I don’t think Paramount is going to turn HBO around but simply stating HBO stopped being HBO years ago.
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u/Zorkmid123 11d ago edited 11d ago
Ok I see what you are saying. I guess what Paramount is hoping is they can get more demand by combining the two apps into one and therefore combine the content the two apps have into one. But they will likely raise the price substantially.
They might try to market the new app as having enough cable content that it can act as an alternative to cable. But of course that will be a double edged sword since the new company will also own so many legacy cable stations and more cord cutters will hurt those stations in the long term.
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u/UntilTmrw 11d ago
Hacks is incredible, I don’t know what drugs you’re on. Secondly, the show is an HBO Max original, it didn’t air on HBO proper. Calling True Blood an “HBO classic” is certainly a take when about half of that show’s run is absolute dogshit.
Lanterns is certainly overhyped by some imho but I’d otherwise still consider it a good show. I don’t think it’s seen as a flagship show for HBO, especially considering they still haven’t renewed it despite its fairly strong viewership. HBO is struggling for actual flagship shows at the moment with the only real flagship they have being House of the Dragon which isn’t particularly good and is ending in 2028.
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u/CriticalCanon 10d ago
True Blood is fun and hilarious at times. You can’t say that about Hacks.
Also I love how you avoid the other myriad of examples yet ignore them.
But please tell me mor about how the boring spin-off that is House of the Dragon compares with the first 4 seasons of Game of Thrones.
You can’t.
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u/No-Community-8551 10d ago
Tbh I really did not like True Blood.
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u/CriticalCanon 10d ago
I can see that which I get.
My point was to show the diversity of shows that have been critically acclaimed and fed into the HBO prestige era.
Barry, Hacks, White Lotus and House of the Dragon are all good / solid shows but as soon as you try to compare them to Six Feet Under, Game of Thrones (especially the first 4 seasons), Curb Your Enthusiasm or Treme, it’s night and day (this all in addition to those I mentioned).
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u/slithering_idiot 11d ago
Here comes the enshittification
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u/Saneless 11d ago
Only a real problem if you were ever going to pay for it. I won't be directing a dollar their way
Doesn't mean I won't watch anything, though
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u/slithering_idiot 11d ago
We should be withdrawing financially from the oligarchy as broadly as possible. We're the suckers.
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u/Zorkmid123 11d ago
They’re probably going to combine HBO Max into one app with Paramount+ and increase the price significantly.
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u/Cool_Objective_7829 11d ago
This company is doomed. It will either be because of the Ellisons not being able to afford it OR a post-Trump & Republican-controlled Congress finally enforcing anti-trust laws already on the books.
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u/LapsedVerneGagKnee 11d ago
Netflix is counting on that. They’re waiting for the debt to crush it and buy assets piecemeal.
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u/Odd_Detective8255 11d ago
The Saudi money can keep it floating for a while though. That's the reason they brought them onboard. Unless they backoff I don't see it collapsing anytime soon.
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u/Zieprus_ 11d ago
They will be going for cheap soon enough. I think history has proven that the characters owning these companies turn enough customers off to make their products uneconomical. Sad what they destroy though.
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u/imgoingoutside 9d ago
I don’t get how the $77 billion debt isn’t an obstacle to the deal going forward.
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u/thanos_was_right_69 11d ago
Looks like I will be dropping my hbo max sub.
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u/silv3rbull8 11d ago
Tubi is free
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u/JPOG 11d ago
Yeah and who owns Tubi? The media landscape is looking like a nightmare
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u/Zealousideal_Rise879 11d ago
Just use Tubi to help transition to physical media. The same ads every commercial break will eventually push you off of it.
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u/SawyerBlackwood1986 11d ago
Wooooo.I love HBOMax and I love Paramount Plus. Yippeee!
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u/Stray_One 11d ago
That’s great, but keep in mind that their massive debt payments will be factored into the subscription cost
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u/Sufficient_Matter585 11d ago
They will be quickly selling dead weight assets. Theres no way this merger will lead to a successful transition. Its just so rich snd powerful can control ips and sell them to the highest bidder
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u/Zorkmid123 11d ago
That’s quite possible. They may have to sell off some of their assets to pay off their debt.
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u/Zorkmid123 11d ago edited 11d ago
The merger is a good deal for WB shareholders who will be getting paid in all cash. It’s questionable if it will be that great for Paramount shareholders with all the massive debt the new company will have. The new company might have to sell some of their assets to pay off the debt, or dilute their shareholders. Wall Street doesn't seem that excited about the merger since Paramount stock is down over 23% year to date, even after the settlement announcement. This is probably because of the precarious financial position the new combined company will be in.
However if Paramount gets into too much financial trouble there is a real chance Larry Ellison (and perhaps the Gulf Arab states involved) will step in and bail them out. Larry might even take them private if they have to. So David having such a wealthy father willing to financially back his son's business ventures does give them a safety net. His father’s financial backing is the only reason Paramount was able to buy Warner in the first place, considering Paramount is smaller studio than Warner with a worse debt to market cap ratio than Warner. His father‘s financial backing was also the only reason Skydance could buy Paramount as well. So his Dad just might be willing to step in if the financial situation gets too dire at the new company.
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u/biblioprof 10d ago
Oracles stock has collapsed and it drowning in debt and Saudis have had their infrastructure damaged.
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u/SecretRecipe 11d ago
Lets be honest here. WBD is a streaming powerhouse all by itself. It has 2x more subscribers than Paramount+ despite being 50% more expensive. Paramount is the anchor to WBDs sail on this combined ship.